1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method and kit for adhesively joining or bonding surfaces and in particular to a method and kit for adhesively applying handle grips to hand-held implements, including sporting equipment, such as golf clubs and tennis rackets, and hand tools and the like.
2. Background of the Art
It is common practice to apply friction or non-slipping handle grip surfaces to the handle portion of hand-held implements to facilitate retention of the implement upon grasping. Such a practice is typically employed, for example, with sporting equipment and hand tools as is illustrated by U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,781,290, 2,000,295, 2,339,121, 3,028,283, 3,087,729, 3,366,384, 3,606,325, 3,845,954, 3,915,782, 4,174,109, 4,185,375, 4,919,420 and 5,034,082. The grip material, which is usually comprised of leather, rubber or the like, provides a degree of shock absorption and a surface with more friction than the wood, metal, composite or plastic shaft upon which it is applied.
Various procedures have been used in the past to apply the handle grip to the respective implement. For example, in the field of golf clubs, it was common practice to wind a strip of grip material around the handle portion of the golf club shaft. Usually the grip material comprised an adhesive on one side to provide bonding to the shaft. However, since winding of the grip material requires much skill and practice, is tedious and extremely time consuming (and oftentimes is unacceptable at the first attempt and must be repeated), in the more recent past, the practice of applying preformed slip-on handle grips has been adopted. While preformed slip-on handle grips are usually employed as original equipment with golf clubs and the like, these grips are also supplied for separate and independent application to replace worn-out grips or to renew or vary the grips in accordance with individual tastes and desires.
In the application of preformed slip-on handle grips however, the problem arises as to how to slide the grip onto an adhesive surface which has been applied to the handle portion of the shaft of the respective implement. One approach has been to employ an adhesive which is activated by a volatile solvent. Thus, for example, such an adhesive is applied to the golf club shaft and a solvent, such as gasoline, is applied to the inner bore of the preformed grip. The solvent acts as a lubricant for sliding the preformed grip onto the shaft and activates the adhesive so that an adhesive bond is formed between the grip and the golf club shaft. Such a method is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,087,729. Another approach to the problem has been to wrap double-sided pressure sensitive adhesive tape around the handle portion of the shaft and apply a volatile solvent, such as gasoline, toluene, mineral spirits, naphtha, 1,1,1-trichloroethane or the like, to the exposed tacky adhesive surface so as to detackify the adhesive thereby providing a slippery surface over which the grip may be slid. As the solvent evaporates, the tackiness of the adhesive returns and the bond between the shaft and the hand grip is secured.
While these prior methods have been found successful for applying handle grips to hand-held implements, the use of volatile solvents which are often inflammable and/or toxic is highly detrimental to the user as well as to the environment and thus an improved procedure is highly desirable.